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Tamarian Nobility
Tamarian society was hierarchical, with a small number of citizens belonging to elite ruling cadres. At the top was the royalty: the monarch and their close family, who wielded power over the kingdom. Below the royalty was the nobility, hereditary officers appointed to rule sections of the kingdom. They were divided into four ranks: dukes, counts, viscounts, and barons. The close family of a titled noble were also considered noble and were given the generic title of Lord ''or ''Lady. Finally, below the nobles were three ranks of knights. Like nobles, knights were appointed to hold land or to execute a state function, but their title was not hereditary. Outside of the nobility that stemmed from the monarch, there were feudal lords who owned land and collected taxes. Royalty King / Queen The King or Queen was the supreme ruler of Tamaria, controlling its external affairs and armies. While most of the kingdom's land was split among the five duchies, the monarch directly controlled the Crownlands — the densely populated heart of the country. The monarch was addressed as Your Majesty. Their children and grandchildren were Princes and Princesses. Prince / Princess Princes and Princesses were the children and grandchildren of the monarch. The heir apparent was addressed as Your Serenity while other princes and princesses were addressed as Your Highness. If not given another noble title, they had the powers of a baron when it came to appointing knights. Nobility Duke / Duchess Dukes and Duchesses were the rulers of the five duchies. They had extensive authority over their domains, with little royal oversight. They were addressed as Your Grace and titled The Duke of ''X. Count / Countess '''Counts' and Countesses were nobles who controlled large or important holdings, resulting in their appointment to the Senate. They were addressed as Your Magnificence and titled The Count of ''X. Viscount / Viscountess '''Viscounts' and Viscountesses were typically appointed to run cities and strategic holdings. They were addressed as Your Eminence and titled The Viscount of ''X. Baron / Baroness '''Barons' and Baronesses were the lowest rank of titled nobility but by far the most common and most diverse. A baron or baroness could be the ruler of a small city or the tender of a humble cluster of farms. They were addressed as Your Excellency and titled The Baron ''X, where ''X was a family name or title name. Lord / Lady Lord and Lady were non-hereditary titles awarded to the following: * Spouses of titled nobles * Children of titled nobles * Grandchildren of counts and dukes * Great-grandchildren of dukes and monarchs * All heirs apparent of titled nobles (i.e. first child; first child’s first child, etc) * Lords emeritus with no other title They were styled as The Noble, addressed as My Lord, and titled Lord ''Name. They were sometimes called ''untitled nobles, as opposed to titled nobles. Knights Knights were non-hereditary officers of the kingdom, not considered nobles. They were typically appointed either due to battle honours, due to attaining a high civil office, or to serve as the warden of a holding not important enough to warrant a noble. They were styled as Sər or Dɐme. There were three ranks: * Knight first class * Knight second class * Knight third class Feudal Lords Not all landowners were members of the nobility. Owners of small villages and farming communities were known generally as feudal lords. Their titles and privileges varied from place to place, from purely symbolic to on par with noble barons. In the North they were styled as Lord of the Manor. They were entitled to the profits from their lands and were required to supply their liege with soldiers and taxes, but they could not appoint knights or pronounce the death penalty like nobles. Appointment Dukes and counts could be appointed only by the monarch, traditionally with the assent of the Senate. Viscounts could be appointed by dukes and the monarch. Barons could be appointed by any higher rank of the nobility. Knights first class could be appointed by the monarch and the dukes. Knights second class could be appointed by the monarch, the dukes, and counts. Knights third class could be appointed by all titled nobles and higher-ranked knights. Premature Inheritance and Transferring Titles As life expectancy grew due to magical and technological innovation, some nobles would grow tired of the responsibilities of their office. It was possible for these nobles to transfer their title to another, typically their heir, with the assent of a higher noble or the monarch. They would then be known as lords emeritus, and titled, for example, as Countess Emeritus. They would continue to use their lesser titles or, having none, simply Lord or Lady. Unlike regular untitled nobles, they retained some privileges, such as the ability to appoint knights. In other cases, a noble wished to confer a degree of responsibility upon their heir. Nobles who had lesser titles (for example, a count who is also a baron) could transfer a lesser title onto their heir. Peerage In any given holding, the peerage of that holding were the titled nobles whose liege was the ruler of that holding. For example, in a duchy, counts and barons who served the duke directly were peers of that duchy, while the barons who served the counts were not peers. Royal House of Peers The peers of Tamaria as a whole — that is, the five dukes plus the peers of the Crownlands — were organized into the Royal House of Peers, which served as an advisory body to the monarch. Senate The counts were organized into the Senate, which met biannually or when summoned. Its primary function was to approve transfers of dukedoms and countships, but it also served as a platform for discussion among the high nobility.